M-Tron 6862 Secret Space Voyager

Marketing to kids...this must be every parents most un-favorite-est thing ever.  back in 1991 the Lego company had come up with a new tactic.  Buy three and get a super deluxe epic instruction sheet that you could use them with.  Fortunately they didn't make it all about the big sets.

Parents were not amused, and today the instructions for this particular marketing gimmick are quite rare, I found one instruction sheet just now for $300.  Though when it is more plentiful you can find decent examples going for the still wallet numbing price of $150; for paper, ink , and staples.  

Needless to say I don't have a copy of this instruction sheet, but we're going to build the toy anyway.

I choose you PICSL-CHU!

PICSL instruction scan for 6862 Secret Space Voyager.

If you are looking to buy this set for a collection it will be cheaper to buy the component sets; rather than pick this up from a reseller.  I completed the model for about $60, $12 for 6877 Vector Detector, $20 for 6896 Celestial Forager, and $29 for 6923 Particle Ionizer.  Due to price fluctuation your results will vary; but it sure beats paying $120 for the same thing disguised as an uber-rare set. And those are for sale without the instruction sheet.  

Along the way I ran into a handful of setbacks...centered around 6923 Particle Ionizer.  You see, there are two versions.  Version 2 has instructions for its construction on the web, but there is version 1, which does not have an instruction scan available right now.  My Particle Ionizer is based on version two of the instructions, but Secret Space Voyager assumes that version 1 is in your possession.  Things get dicey halfway into the model.  To complete the model with the available inventory I made the following adjustments.

Calls for one extra bumper plate.  Substitute tile

Calls for one black brick with pin.  Haha! How bout no.  I built this contraption.

The black and red hinge is reversed in color.  Oh there was a spare hinge... phew!

The finished model leaves gobs of leftovers.  Just think how much you'd lose if you just bought the finished model!  And overpaid the killer pricetag...meanwhile the seller takes these scraps and Bricklink's them for additional profit.  And he didn't give you the instruction sheet either...which is the only true element that might be worth the pricetag; I'm being mighty generous with that might.

If you haven't caught what I'm saying: Don't buy this toy, the seller is making a suckers bet!

All that out of the way.  Here is the product of Vector Detector. Celestial Forager, and Particle Ionizer.  As a way to give children with tighter incomes a sense of having a bigger set it totally works.  It is bigger.  It may have the largest in ship car of the golden era.

The design is not short on armaments, sensors, search lights...whatever floats your fancy.

Destroy them with Lasers.

The cockpit is deep enough to stand the M-Tron astronauts up and still lower the canopy.  

The vehicle locking system is incredibly tight,and it's a great further demonstration of the magnet's construction value.

Extraction is interesting.  A series of hinges and magnets disconnect and fold up or down to allow vehicle release.  

But this is where things become a bit...disappointing. The ship becomes ragged looking in the back without its transport load.  

The ground vehicles deign is bulky, but nothing groundbreaking.

I'm not really sure what the downward facing side-
lamps are intended to do.  The vehicle is big and faux ostentatious, but it offers no supply transport capabilities, unless we dig into the extra leftovers

I've got a box of dirt.

It's kind of adorkable when I look at it for too long.

So that's 6862 Secret Space Voyager.  It's a cool marketing concept from back in the day, and I advise building it if you've got the sets and want to check it out, but don't buy it.   The design doesn't have the expected engineering/design polish of the M-Tron theme.  It's been made out to be a rare collectible worth many dollars, and that is a flat out lie designed to swindle Lego enthusiasts who haven't done their research.  Not every seller is doing this intentionally (They also aren't all heavily researched in the topic), so please don't harass them.  For all we know 6862's value may have been determined by uninformed buyers who went ooh! Shiny!  Don't be uninformed.

There are no special or unique pieces in this toy, but there are two versions of 6923 Particle Ionizer, so if you have one, compare yours to the Peeron inventory.  If you've got the alternate version I'm sure they'd like to have a scan of the instruction sheet.  I'd like to inspect the differences myself.

Here's what I did with the leftover parts.

Supply Depot.

Final Score: C for model, A- for idea

Pros: Cool idea, Introduces a function, Fun to play with, Encourages disassembly
Cons: Not up to expected build quality, Resellers have ruined the intent of the build

Cheers,

Until next time,

Cure All Pill